


Learn the Hard Way

by Invisible_Ink



Category: Undertale, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Mentions of Death, Underfell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-08-08 20:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7771780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Invisible_Ink/pseuds/Invisible_Ink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Underfell Papyrus learns that you don't know how much you love something until it's taken away from you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learn the Hard Way

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops.

It was a normal day in the Underground, Papyrus and his brother were at their sentry stations on lookout for a human. Well, Papyrus was at his sentry station on lookout for a human, and Sans was fast asleep at his own station. Papyrus wasn't in the greatest mood that day, and just seeing Sans slack off on the job just made him even more infuriated.

"Sans! Wake up you numbskull!" Papyrus snarled, causing his brother to jolt upwards as he woke up. He felt very close to giving his brother a severe punishment as he continued to growl, "I told you not to fall asleep at your post! If I catch you slacking off again, you're gonna be in big trouble, you got that?"

Sans glared at his brother with tired eyes, a grimace sneaking across his face, "yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say, Boss. Now howzabout ya go make yourself look like an idiot and yell at someone else, hm?" Papyrus' scowl worsened as he bent forward slightly and grabbed Sans by the collar of his shirt.

"What did you just say to me?" Papyrus questioned, the pointed fingers of his left hand curled around the hem of his brother's shirt as his other hand's fingers dug into the battered wood of Sans' sentry station. 

The shorter skeleton's expression shifted to something nervous for a second, then quickly changed back to something cocky, "I jus' said to get yer sorry arse outta here and go yell at someone else for a change," he grumbled. Papyrus was fuming, how dare Sans speak to him like that! He was the Captain of the Royal Guard! He should be treated with fear and respect, even from his sorry excuse of a brother! The tall skeleton yanked Sans out of his sentry station, the short skeleton dangling about a foot off the ground as Papyrus kept a good hold onto his shirt.

"How dare you treat your superior with such disrespect!" Papyrus barked at him, shaking his brother before roughly throwing him to the ground. He narrowed his eyes as he heard the crunch of snow as Sans fell, then sat up and scooted back a little. "You should be grateful that the Great and Terrible Papyrus is your brother!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm _totally_ grateful for the fact that my brother is a total jerk!" Sans snapped. Papyrus fell silent, all that could be heard from the tall, dark skeleton was a low, angry growl.

"You ungrateful brat!" Papyrus retorted, "I'll show you what happens to monsters who disrespect the Captain of the Royal Guard!" He snapped his fingers, and a blood red bone appeared in his hands, which he thwacked his brother across the face with. Papyrus mercilessly continued to attack Sans with the club, causing the shorter skeleton's skull to crack and bleed in many places. Sans was coughing and shaking after a couple blows, struggling to stand, or at least push himself back to a sitting position. But his attempts were dismissed as soon as Papyrus planted the heel of his boot against Sans' spine and forced him down against the snow once again. 

Papyrus paused as he heard the sickening snap of Sans' ribcage and spine being crushed beneath Papyrus' weight, and he pulled his boot away. Sans just lay there pitifully in the snow, cracks littering what was visible of his skull and arms, and his ribcage and spine were surely cracked or broken. Papyrus frowned slightly, this time, he had went too far, his brother was probably broken beyond repair. "Sans… get up…" he mumbled, nudging his brother's small frame with the front end of his boot. 

Once Sans didn't move, Papyrus used his boot to roll the shorter skeleton over onto his back. There was a large splotch of red snow where Sans' skull used to be resting facedown on, and the cracks scattering his face were still bleeding profusely. Papyrus started to get a little worried for his brother's wellbeing… he had gone too far… he had gone too far…

And that was when he noticed the dust collecting on Sans' jacket. Now panicking, Papyrus bent down to examine the broken body of his brother, frowning and ripping off Sans' black jacket. He could see a couple of the other's broken ribs wanting to poke through and tear at Sans' shirt, and when rolled over again, it was obvious that Sans' spine was broken. Even if Sans was awake, he wouldn't be able to move at all. "Sans! Get up right now, you idiot!" Papyrus screamed at his brother, taking Sans by the shoulders and lifting him off the ground. Shaking him a few times, he continued to demand his dying brother to wake up. 

"Sans! Please! I didn't mean it, just wake up, right now!" Papyrus continued to shout, breaking down into tears as Sans just continued quickly turning into dust. 

Papyrus killed his brother. 

Papyrus killed his brother.

Papyrus killed the only family he had left. 

The tall skeleton embraced his brother for the first time in years, sobbing into Sans' shoulder as he apologized over and over, willing for his 'good for nothing' brother to come back. 

And with one last, tight squeeze, Sans exploded into dust, leaving nothing but his signature, black hoodie behind. And  Papyrus did nothing but cling to that jacket, as if holding on for dear life as he cried, and whimpered, and trembled over the guilt of losing his brother.

 

* * *

 

 

And then Papyrus woke up at his home. 

He sat up in his bed with a pained cry, quickly blinking the tears out of his eye sockets as he looks around his bedroom. Papyrus quickly stood up, getting out of bed and running down the hall, quickly knocking on the door to his brother's room. 

There was no response. 

Papyrus felt like bawling again, he had killed Sans. 

But his anguish and overwhelming guilt was soon replaced with overjoyed relief as the door unlocked,

the knob twisted,

and a tired Sans stood in the doorway. 

With no explanation for why Papyrus had woken Sans up earlier than usual, the taller skeleton bent down and threw his arms around his brother, giving the real Sans a hug for the first time in forever.

It was all just a dream. Thank god. 


End file.
